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Thursday, February 11, 2010

Reader appreciation contest is on!

CONTEST IN NOW CLOSED. THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED!! CHECK BACK FOR WINNERS LATER TODAY (Feb. 17th).

Today is the day. My massive Valentine's Day give away starts now. And you want to know why? Because I am showing the love. That's right. These last few months since BPOD debuted have been full of joys and fears, but one thing that sticks out to me above all others are you guys, the people who gave me a chance, who picked up my book and said 'sure, why not'. Grateful doesn't even begin to cover it. You gave me your time. You read. You posted. You reviewed. You rated. You talked about Charlie. You helped me get the word out in ways I never could.

So I love you dear readers, fans, bloggers... Your words pick me up when I'm down. You inspire me to get up every day and write. And when you 'get' my words, you make my whole being glow with happiness.

How's that for some early holiday sappiness? :D Okay on to the good stuff!

I am giving away a ton of books. We have established authors. New authors. New series... At midnight on February 16th, the contest will end. I'll randomly pick 3 winners to receive three books each, plus each gets a copy of BPOD. So, three winners. Four books for each of you! Once I announce the winners. The first to respond will get their pick of three, the second to respond will get their pick, and so on.

The books are as follows (some are brand new, some read by moi):

Drawn Into Darkness by Annette McCleave

Night's Cold Kiss by Tracey O'Hara

Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep (this one is signed and we have bookmarks!)

The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers by Angie Fox

Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland

The Vampire Bride by Gena Showalter

Demon Mistress by Yasmine Galenorn

Deadtown by Nancy Holzner

Vicious Circle by Linda Robertson

Plus each winner will receive a copy of The Better Part of Darkness, signed, of course.

So, how do you enter? Leave a comment, tell me something you love -- can be anything book related or non-book related. If you're a follower of my blog, tell me after your comment, and you'll get a +1 entry. If you follow me on Twitter, say so and you get another +1, and if you mention this contest online (blog, twitter, LJ), tell me and you get +1. So, four chances to get your name in the pot.

I will ship worldwide, as long as there is an address to ship to. That's it. :-)

71 comments:

I think one thing that I've enjoyed about your blog is the discussions about books in general (and UF in specific)... and I was at the garrison library today and thought of another UF author that I didn't before. This is probably because he's always been lumped in with the SF crowd (and there's not a thing wrong with that, either). Ray Bradbury. His short novels and short stories would especially fit the UF category.

So thank you, Kelly, for keeping the dialog going! I'm glad to find others who enjoy reading (and writing) as much as I do.

Please do enter me in your giveaway, as I could always use more reading material. I do follow your blog and Facebook page, and I'm so glad that you mentioned book blogging because today's my book day for my blog, and I'll certainly include a mention of your contest.

Something I love... I certainly do love books, but besides that I love my daughter. I was told once, after having Cancer as a teenager, that I may never had children. So she is my little miracle. She too has a passion for books and reading. I couldn't be more proud. :)

I'm a follower of your blog and on twitter (@amandamakepeace).

I also shared this giveaway on Twitter: http://twitter.com/amandamakepeace/statuses/9012025336

Kelly, you really are sharing a lot of luv today! This is a wonderful giveaway.

I have to say I really love reading the great books that have been coming out lately. You authors are just making wonderful stories and I am having a hard time keeping up with all of you. I also love to see my son smile. Not that smile just to please you but the genuine happy smile and laugh. It really warms me to hear and see it.

I'm a follower of your blog.I follow you on twitter (@mellhay)Tweeted of the giveaway. http://twitter.com/#favorites

I love finding a book by a new author that I simply can't put down, that I have to read right to the end, even tho I've a million other things to do and its late and no one has been fed, not even the cat.

For contest purposes though, I have to go with my writer friends. They are a constant inspiration through their successes and failures, and the way they constantly push me to be better. Without our shared love of telling stories, we might never have met, but I consider many of those people some of my most cherished friends.

I follow you on twitter (@Selestial) and I'm going to re-tweet your announcement right now :) Congrats again on the success of BPOD!

Something I love that's book related? Being able to escape my daily life and go somewhere that I've never been, or somewhere that I've been and am able to visit again through the written word.Something that I love that's non-book-related? My fiance. He really is my world right now (I know, Valentine's Day sappiness strikes again) but it's true! He makes me so happy. :)

I follow your blog. I posted a post about the contest:http://ladyd2206.blogspot.com

Something I love about books. Their smell, the possibilities, just looking at them, and romance heroes - particularly those paranormal alphas that are like tobacco. No good in real life but highly addictive, lol

Aside from books? XD I love to cook. I'm not really a recipe sort of girl--they're more guidelines then absolutes in my mind--so even though things tend to turn out close to how they tasted last time, they're never the same. It's amazing how much a pinch more of a spice will change a recipe!

This isn't to say that the improvisions always turn out...well (this one time I messed up mashed potatoes so badly they could have been mistaken for play-dough), but I keep at it until I have it workable!

I just thought I'd drop you a line to recommend, if you haven't already read them, the Incarnations of Immortality series of books by Piers Anthony.

Anthony has been one of my favourite authors for as long as I remember, the Xanth books are great with their puns. However, this series has always stood out to me as a great work of fiction as each novel is perfectly self contained, yet part of an intricate succession. The characters are gripping and multi dimensional, as is the view you get of them. THere is just the right balance of real world and magic, and there are some really fascinating debates about life, religion and other such topics buried in, so cleverly that it is not obtrusive.

I love it when i can't stop giggling while reading a book. Seriously it's always funny when people around you give you the weird eye or ask you why you're laughing when a book make you giggle. (The same is true with crying...but it's a bit more dramatic lol)I love that after you explained it's the book that made you laugh, people are often asking 'what's it about? What's the title?'

I'm a follower of your blogI'm a follower on Twitter (@pattepoilue)I Tweeted about this contest (http://twitter.com/pattepoilue/status/9017720949)

Me! Me! Me! I love you! Cousins tend to do that. I also love PB&Js, my dog, and clothes right when they come out of the dryer.

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On to a different subject... an entire group of my friends is eagerly awaiting the release of your next book. I kid you not, I get "is it out yeeeeeeet?" as an almost daily question from at least one person.

What a great idea! I can introduce myself to your books (which I do plan to do) and maybe a couple of others at the same time. There is nothing I love more than curling up with a really good book. It was one of the main activities I missed when I was raising children and just have no time to do it. Now that my children are "grown" I indulge myself whenever possible.

There's a lot that I love but, right now I have to say Baxter, my dog. He went missing Dec. 18th. I had no idea what happened to him. Then, about 2 weeks ago, he showed back up. He was wearing a red new collar. I'm thankful to have him back.

I follow your blog.I follow you on twitter.I follow you on facebook.I follow your other blog too. (The Magic District)

Books are the greatest hobby to have in the world because you can take a book to read with you anywhere. You say Kelly that you appreciate us the fans, your readers and let me say in return that we reading fans appreciate you and the work you have done and are still doing to entertain us and give us something positive in life to look forward to in your blog site and the books you are witing now and in the future.I am a blog follower, follower on Twitter @jacabur1posted on my right sidebar contest link here on blog: http://jacaburintexas.blogspot.com/

I just read BPOD recently and I wanted to tell you that I thought it was great. I've been looking for UF recently where the protagonist actually has healthy permanent relationships and even though I was thinking of married couples (Can't a married woman kick ass without there being *drama* at home??), I really appreciate Charlie's relationship with her daughter. I look forward to reading the next one!

I do follow your blog via GReader, and I'm a follower of yours on Twitter. (@kiaras - and to be honest I WAS a follower and then purged a bunch of people last week and apparently you were mistakenly one of them but I have CORRECTED that grievous error now!)

I love books, there is no secret about that. My biggest love is my daughters and grandchildren. They are the lights of my life. My youngest daughter just found out she is having a boy, so in June I will have a new grandson, I can't wait.

great contest Kelly im a blog follower +1. Besides books I have to say I really love twitter. It has been a joy to meet fellow readers and they have all inspired me to start reviewing myself and even writing! It's wonderful thru blog and tweets to talk to authors and tell them how we enjpy their work. Your book is on my to buy list but i don't winning it too! :)

I love books - how they feel in my hands, how they transport me away from my life to other places. I love all of the different genres there are - so I can choose to read a story in a present day, historical, futuristic, or fantastical setting about all kinds of people and/or things.I follow you on Twitter.

My favorite thing right now, is grandchildren. After that it's reading urban fantasy by writers like you, Devon Monk, Suzanne McLeod, Ilona Andrews and others. I love this genre and this past 10 or 12 months have been the best for finding new or debut books (like yours!). I love all the different worlds within the books, the varied characters and situations.

I've been a follower of your blog, lurking since I read you were releasing a book, (waaayyyy back in the fall).

Something I love: Canada. Have never been there, but am convinced it is my spiritual home :-) And if you want to make this book-related: Kelley Armstrong, Claire Delacroix, Eve Kenin, Michelle Maddox, etc ;-)

I follow your blog, but via GoogleReader. You can find out the number of your GoogleReader followers, but not their identities, so you'll just have to trust me ;-)

I seek them out, I read about their journey, I try to find their books and then once I've got the debut book to read ...I pause. This is such a moment and I'm normally conflicted about starting.

I admire debut authors so much. Most of them have been writing privately for some time, facing not only rejection but having their friends and family know that they've received rejection notices. Most are either raising small children or are working hard at a day job. Either way the writing comes late at night and on weekends and has to be interrupted so that they can take care of the demands of normal life.

Then ... their first book is accepted, negotiated, published and dreams that were private are now exposed for all to see and critique.

So when I get a debut novel in my hand I have a real sense of anxiety. I want the book to work, I want to affirm the author's dreams and I want to be able to say how proud I am of them for their courage.

But I'm also aware that writing needs to be worked at, refined, polished, matured, and that it's likely that a first book will have rough edges, some awkwardness in mechanics of plot or an imbalance between plot and characterisation.

So my love of Debut Authors encompasses all the conflict of any early love - the anxiety, the breathlessness, the anticipation, the worry that it'll be a disappointment ... you know! LOL

Thankfully I'm so often faced with debut novels that are really good.

And when reading The Better Part of Darkness within a chapter I totally forgot that this was a debut novel, was able to put my analysis aside and just delve into the book and enjoy it totally. (BTW I was delighted to also be able to say this to Tracey O'Hara about her brilliant debut novel, Night's Cold Kiss.)

And for those times when a Debut Author can do that, when I can not only really enjoy the book and appreciate it, but also reflect on the wonder of the journey that this writer has taken ... that's why I love Debut Authors!

Kelly, you have a real talent - keep delivering us more of Charlie!

As for the comp:I've reviewed TBPD on my site http://www.fangtastic.com.au/ and also blogged about it there, I follow you on twitter and have tweeted my review and RT'd this comp and have signed up to follow on google friends

Love reading these comments! Sounds like we all have our love of books in common, and several other things as well. ;-) Thanks for the great comments you guys, and for getting the word out on the contest!

I love nothing more than going to my boyfriends cottage, brewing a pot of coffee & sitting out on the deck reading a good book.

Though I could do without the hummingbird feeder right above my head..those little birds have some loud wings when you are deep into a book! I've tossed books a number of times thinking I was under attack! lol

Thank you for doing this Kelly and congrats on such a great release!

+1 I'm a follower (Wicked Lil Pixie)+1 I follow you on twitter, though I thought I already had been! (WickedLPixie)

something I love is my guys Hubby, my oldest, and my 1-4. Even though sometimes I could pinch their head off lol.+1 follow your blog via google reader +1 follow you on twitter+1 tweeted about this contest

I picked your book up in Walmart, (of all places) because the cover caught my eye, and was sold after reading the first paragraph. I loved the book so much, I gave it to my husband, who DOES NOT read anything, ever, and he loved it also. We are both eagerly awaiting "The Darkest Edge of Dawn"!I just started following your blog. I don't do Twitter, but I am a Facebook Fan! Does that count??

Well, I LOVE reading. If I could do nothing but read, read, read books all day long I'd be very happy. I especially love finding a new author to read. What can I say? I'm a bookaholic. There is no cure...

Love my family and my friends and my kitties, obviously. Also love urban fantasy (or I'd never have found this contest, LOL. Though I do follow your blog and your twitter, so yeah.). Love you book, Kelly (no, not sucking up - I really loved it and can't wait for the next one).

Umm, let's see, what else? Umm, okay I love profiteroles. Little bombs of yummy, creamy goodness. Bad for thighs but so nice. Had them for first time in years this past weekend. So good.

I love my family, coming home after a log day at work to cuddle on the couch with my boys & our books. I love when my newly 3 yr old calls me his BF & my 7 yr old randomly says I love you...oh the simple life :)

+1 for following the blog+1 for following on Twitter (@hefollowedme)+1 for tweeting the contest (http://twitter.com/hefollowedme/status/9188980047)

What a terrific contest! I really love words (among other things). Putting them together and taking them apart. Figuring out their origins and meanings from their roots. Picking out the exact perfect word for the occasion and resuscitating old words people no longer use. I'm just enamored of words!+1 I just became a follower.+1 I follow you on twitter (@KimBea)+1 I retweeted the contest (again, @KimBea)Thanks for the giveaway!

Hello!I just picked up your new book 'The Better Part Of Darkness' and am on chapter three. Great Read:) I am a hardcore urban fantasy reader and very glad I picked up your book. I will be keeping track of when the second one comes out.Again, a great read